Chapter Eleven The Locked Door

  As I thought of this, I tightly grasped the iron rod in my hand. At that moment, the ghost was not the most important thing to me; what posed a greater threat to me was that invisible 'third person'. As for the ghost, I knew where she was and that she really existed, but as for that 'third person', I had no bottom line in my heart, heaven knows what kind of thing he is, human or ghost or something like a ghost.

  I walked towards the place where the ghost was, with my heart racing and my back drenched in sweat due to the ferocious tigers in front of me and venomous snakes behind. The thought of escaping had flashed through my mind several times, but at this moment, Da Zhuang might have already fallen into the hands of that 'third person' and his life was uncertain. I couldn't just abandon him like that, and between life and righteousness, I still chose righteousness.

  The dim green light in the corridor is not as good as not turning it on, and this brightened dim green light still can't give the corridor too much brightness. On the contrary, it adds a bit of eeriness to the corridor. Even if I hold an oil lamp at this time, I still can't see how far away things are around me.

  As I walk along this path, I always feel like something is following me. The feeling is very unsettling, just like a venomous snake lurking around you. You can't see it, but it can see you. It will bite you hard with its venom-filled fangs when you least expect it and then escape far away, leaving you unable to catch it.

  Although I had a hunch that I was being followed, I couldn't find any trace of him, which made me feel that the 'third person' was leaning towards being a ghost.

  "The ghost's footsteps are silent," Grandpa said. "Not only do they walk silently, but they can also leave the ground, giving you a feeling like those ancient heroes who could rise into the air and break free from earthly restraints. Ghosts are much more sinister than spirits; ghosts can be thought of as evolved spirits or the proliferation of human hearts. They possess abilities that people cannot accept. Compared to spirits, ghostly powers are nothing special, but for ghosts, these powers are their very own, endless and layered. Ghosts harm humans as if it's a habit, only by harming others can they survive. That's why there are so few ghosts; the laws of nature don't allow such existence, but many things have been altered by human hands."

  I remember a story my grandfather used to tell me. At that time, Grandfather already had Father, but Father was still young. Grandma took Father back to her hometown to visit, and when they returned, it was already late in the evening. If they followed the original route home, it would have been around 10 or 11 pm before they arrived. However, there was a shortcut between Grandma's hometown and Grandfather's house that could get them home by 7 or 8 pm if they took it. So, Grandma carried Father as a child along this road on their way back. As they walked, the sky grew dark, and since it was winter, the sun set earlier. In this way, Grandma trudged through the snowy path carrying Father as a child all the way home. But when they got home, Father clutched his stomach and cried uncontrollably on the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed). No matter how much comfort or what remedies were used - such as hot water compresses or folk methods - nothing seemed to work.

  Grandfather found it strange, so he asked Grandma what she had done today and why the child was crying when she came back. So Grandma told Grandfather everything that happened today. Only then did Grandfather remember that a 20-year-old girl had committed suicide on the shortcut between their home and Grandma's hometown a few days ago. At that time, Grandfather already knew a lot about ghosts and spirits, and he had encountered many strange things. Immediately, Grandfather called an elderly man who lived nearby, and the old man took off all the clothes the child (my father) was wearing and shook them towards the door. Then, muttering something, he burned the clothes. The child immediately stopped crying and smiled at Grandfather and Grandma with a big smile. Later, the old man told Grandfather that it was called "ghost crying wolf", which means being possessed by a ghost, but not in the sense of a ghost entering someone's body to control them. Instead, it meant that a ghost had attached itself to the person's clothes or hair accessories, causing pressure and leading to strange occurrences.

  As for the ghost, I also asked my grandfather about it before, but my grandfather didn't know much about ghosts either. When I asked him how to deal with ghosts, he didn't know either, and just told me that this was something that needed to be found from a Taoist priest in Maoshan or some other high-ranking Taoist priests.

  I thought to myself, even Grandpa didn't know how to deal with ghosts. I'm not a Taoist from that mountain, nor do I have any magical powers. If I really encountered a ghost, I'd be done for. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but hope that the one following me in secret wasn't a ghost after all.

  At this time, I had already walked to the corridor stairs of the corner where Da Zhuang knocked me unconscious last time.

  In the distance, I could vaguely see the white figure of the ghost. The ghost seemed to know that I was following her from behind, and the 'thud thud' sound echoed a few more times. The white figure suddenly disappeared like fog, as if it had never appeared at all.

  I walked towards where the ghost disappeared, the road was not long, most of it was a downward staircase, and I soon arrived at where the ghost had disappeared before.

  It was a door, a thick wooden door, not very high, just about the height of a person. The top of the thick wooden door was sealed with iron chains and an iron lock.

  I don't know what purpose the ghost has in bringing me here, but one thing is certain: she's not out to harm me. If she wanted to use me as a substitute to return to the world of the living, she could have killed both Da Zhuang and me during our first shift together.

  As I thought about it, I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease towards that ghost. Was it just to bring me here and have me stare at this wooden door? No! It definitely wasn't that simple. If it was just for this purpose, and as a result Da Zhuang ended up who-knows-where and who-knows-if-he's-alive-or-dead, then how much guilt would I have to bear, all because of my own curiosity leading to this outcome?

  I shook my head, scattering all thoughts, staring at the iron lock on the wooden door in front of me, and an evil idea emerged.